Encyclopedia of Cesar Chavez: The Farm Workers' Fight for Rights and Justice (Movements of the American Mosaic)

Two decades after Cesar Chavez's death, this timely book chronicles the drive for a union of one of American society's most exploited groups—farm workers. Encyclopedia of Cesar Chavez is a valuable one-volume source based on the most recent research and available documentation. Historian Roger Bruns documents how Chavez and his United Farm Workers (UFW), against formidable odds, organized farm laborers into a force that for the first time successfully took on the might of California's agribusiness interests to achieve greater wages and better working conditions.

Set against the backdrop of the 1960s, a time of assassinations, war protests, civil rights battles, and reform efforts for poor and minority citizens, the approximately 100 entries in this encyclopedia provide a glimpse into the events, organizations, men and women, and recurring themes that impacted the life of Cesar Chavez. It also contains a section of primary documentation—useful not only to enhance the understanding of this social and political movement, but also as source material for students.

This book is a unique, single-volume treatment offering original source material on the life, accomplishments, disappointments, and lasting legacy of one of American history's most celebrated social reformers—Cesar Chavez.

• Presents a unique narrative of the events in the life of Chavez and the Farm Workers Movement, as well as original documents and entries on people and events

• Provides a valuable source of information for tracing attitudes, legislation, and progressive reform efforts in the last half-century, especially in light of the current heated debate over immigration

• Demonstrates how a determined organizer applied various methods and tactics to accomplish what seemed at the onset of the movement to be a quixotic venture—a relevant lesson for those strategizing to achieve social justice today